Employee Rights Blog

It is your employer's responsibility to take practical steps to prevent sexual harassment. Whether sexual harassment has already occurred, or an employer does not follow prevention laws, they can be held accountable for their violations. When Sexual Harassment Occurs When harassment does occur, t...

Sexual discrimination occurs when an employer shows bias or distinction towards an applicant or employee on the basis of their gender.  Although the majority of sexual discrimination cases are directed towards women, both men and women are protected under The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII a...

Certain behaviors, such as conditioning promotions, awards, training or other job benefits upon acceptance of unwelcome actions of a sexual nature, are always wrong. That's sexual harassment and it is against the law. If you think you may be a victim of sexual harassment then it is important to u...

Salary inequality accounts for a large amount of sexual discrimination complaints.  Employee's rights are protected against sexual discrimination in compensation under two laws: the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under the Equal Pay Act (EPA), employers are r...

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 is a federal law that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or job applicants with disabilities in all aspects of employment including but not limited to hiring, firing, promotion, salaries and training opportunities. In additi...

What Is Sexual Orientation Discrimination? Sexual orientation discrimination occurs when an employer discriminates against an individual because they are perceived or actually gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and/or transgender.   Heterosexuals can also experience sexual orientation discrimination. Discr...

Always remember that federal and state laws are in place to protect you from sexual discrimination at work. If you believe you have been a victim of sexual discrimination, it's important to know what to do. Here Are The Five Steps You Need To Take: Document the situation.  Make notes on y...

Yes, It Can. It's always nice to get out of the office to attend a seminar or conference.  And most people enjoy socializing with their co-workers at the company picnic or holiday party. Even though most of these occasions take place outside of the office, your company is still held liable to the...

What Is Harassment And What Is Not? All types of sexual relationships and behavior in the workplace are not legally prohibited. And since we discuss what does constitute workplace sexual harassment, we also are providing you with situations that do not necessarily constitute inappropriate behavio...

G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc Reaches Agreement to Settle California Employee Meal and Rest Break Class Action  After an extremely long-running class action, G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc, (previously The Wackenhut Corporation), reached agreement for full and final settlement of a class action ...

On November 13, 2018 a California federal judge denied Walmart's bid to decertify a class of at least 50,000 workers who claim the big-box retailer underpaid them for missed lunch breaks. This decision comes after a federal judge just a couple of months ago granted partial class-action status in ...

California has enacted a number of powerful laws that allows for the enforcement of the state's wage and hour laws. Unfortunately, in this state, there are a number of workers whose hands are tied when it comes to filing class-action lawsuits against their employers because the company they work ...

ADA And Disability Discrimination EEOC Alleges Dignity Health Fired Longtime Employee with Vision Loss in Violation of ADA On July 12, 2018, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against Dignity Health, a healthcare company headquartered in San Francisco and oper...

On May 11, 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the plaintiff, not the employer, maintains the burden of proving the availability of a reasonable accommodation, even if the employer did not take advantage of the interactive process under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). [...

Disability Discrimination, Retaliation And Sexual Harassment  Protecting employees from workplace discrimination and retaliation continue to be a primary focus for both California courts and the legislature. The following case recaps provide a glimpse into some of the decisions regarding discrimi...

FCRA – Fair Credit Reporting Act There are numerous bodies of law employers should understand when it comes to screening employee candidates. These related laws cover topics such as background checks, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), “ban the box” on applications, and the ability to ...

Background On California Minimum Wage Rates – Increases   On April 4, 2016, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a new minimum wage bill. The bill raised the state's minimum wage for employers with more than 25 employees to $10 per hour effective July 1, 2016 and $10.50 per hour effective Janua...

In a significant court decision on the status of gig-economy workers, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley concluded on February 8, 2018, that drivers for Grubhub Inc. are independent contractors and not employees under California law. The ruling may have implications for other sharing e...

Workplace Discrimination Case The engineer who was fired by Google after he criticized its diversity policies last August claims in a lawsuit that he and others at the internet giant faced harassment and workplace discrimination due to their conservative political views. This latest lawsuit again...

Age Discrimination Several national reports show that there are actually more Baby Boomers in the workforce than ever before. These reports suggest that it is no longer the norm for workers to retire at age 65–unlike previous generations. With this trend, it is important to review the salient poi...

Salary History Ban – California Law On October 12, 2017, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 168 into law, effectively banning employers from asking job applicants about salary history. As we covered in previous posts, the language found in AB 168 has failed to get full endorsement twice before—first ...

Earlier this month, a California court judge issued a tentative decision denying certification of eight subclasses of amusement park workers in Case No. BC505344, Villegas v. Six Flags Entertainment Corp.  Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ann I. Jones did however suggest she would consider certif...

California Court of Appeal finds in Sprunk v. Prisma LLC that a defendant in class action litigation can waive its right to seek arbitration against absent, unnamed class members by deciding not to compel arbitration against the named plaintiff within a reasonable timeframe. Background Maria Spru...

On August 8, 2017, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a press release announcing the settlement of a lawsuit against United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS). The suit alleged disability discrimination claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and was settled for...

California is one of several states that require employers to compensate its employees with “reporting time pay.” The applicable Wage Order in California, requires “that on each workday that an employee reports for work, as scheduled, but is not put to work or is furnished less than half of the e...